Vacuum chamber with a glowing blue cloud of atoms that are laser-cooled near the temperature of absolute zero

Ultracold photo-fragmented molecules

Welcome to the Columbia University Physics Department Website

The Physics Department is located in Pupin Hall on Columbia University's Morningside Heights Campus in New York City. The department has about 35 faculty who teach and carry out research in the fields of: astrophysics, condensed matter physics, high energy nuclear physics, high energy particle physics, and atomic, molecular, and optical physics. We have about 20 undergraduate physics majors and 100 graduate students in the department per year. The department's research is carried out on-campus in the Pupin Laboratories, Schapiro Hall, at the nearby Nevis Laboratories, and at many off-campus laboratories and sites. The richness of educational opportunities offered at the department is based upon a long and distinguished tradition of teaching and research. Columbia graduates, along with many scientists who spent their formative years here, have gone on to make extraordinary contributions to science as researchers, teachers, and intellectual leaders.

Pupin Hall Construction Upgrades

Pupin Hall is currently undergoing a series of concurrent projects to provide necessary upgrades to the 90-year-old building while preserving its historic significance on campus. Visit the Pupin Hall Upgrades website to learn more, and view the latest December 2014 project update to learn about the project’s latest developments.